Blackheath Village Society AGM Wednesday 19th June 2024

Blackheath Village Society AGM Wednesday 19th June 2024
Blackheath Village Hall

PRESENT:
Paul Brodie David Grisley Anne Jenkins Shelley Grisley Ben Moore Jan Cope Paul Cope
David Bushill Gina Bushill Ralph Broadbent Paul Thompson Elaine Thompson Jill
Wilkinson Ranald Schulz Paul Vincent Graham Hayward Helen Suarez Oscar Suarez
Vicky Cadlina Gerald Whetstone Richard Stoten Colin Hayward Jane Hayward Cheryl
Braime Kate Webb Max Gibbs Simon Jones Alexandra Jones Gay Hawey Christina
Hartshorn Peter Walshaw Patricia Allen David Allen Helen Brodie.

APOLOGIES:
Laura Terry Penelope Kirkwood Peter Maggs Olive Maggs Alistair Taylor Hamish
Whiteman Henia Whiteman Luke Dunkley Mia Dunkley Elaine Vincent Nick Harrison
Wendy Harrison Patrick Venning Hilary Venning Jackie Beadle.

1. Minutes of the Last Meeting Held on 30th May 2023
These were agreed upon and proposed by Max Gibbs and seconded by Colin Hayward.

2. Matters Arising
No matters arose in connection with the minutes of the last meeting.

3. Chairman’s Report
A full copy of the chairman’s report is available on request, and a summary of the
presentation by David Grisley is as follows:
David extended his condolences to the family and friends of the recent loss of long-term
residents Brigadier Dick Hume and Keith MacDonald.
David thanked the Committee for their work and effort over the last twelve months. He
expressed the importance of well-being of the residents and how the Committee actively
drives the activities of Blackheath Village. We are always open to new members to
join the Committee and help us in the future.

Flooding and Verges:
The BVS has been tackling the flooding and first, we would like to thank Max Gibbs and
David Bushill for their help and assistance. A working party was established and the
ditches were cleared with the help of Colin Hayward. Waverley also cleared the culverts
throughout the village from the crossroads. Max Gibbs suggested that we should
consider a fundraising exercise in conjunction with the residents and the Parish Council
to put together a plan to reduce the erosion of the verges in the future. This was agreed.

Jan Cope asked about the responsibility of the verges and it is our opinion that Surrey
County Council Highways deals with the verges outside the village and the local
residents will probably organise the repair of the verges inside the village. This will be
subject to approval by Surrey County Council Highways.

This Way That Way Sign:
We are grateful to Peter Walshaw and Richard Moore for refurbishing and erecting the
new sign on behalf of the residents.

Blackheath Woodland:
The vans have now been removed by Waverley and thanks were extended to Simon
Jones and Yvette Offer for their assistance. We have contacted the owner to establish if
he is interested in selling the land and we will continue to work with James Herbert, the
Parish Council and local residents.

King’s Coronation Party:
The BVS did not charge for this event which cost £477. Thanks were extended to Ralph
Broadbent and his family for the music, Colin and Jane Hayward for the children’s games
and Vicky for the food.

Summer BBQ:
Again, this was a thoroughly enjoyable event held on the cricket ground and the BVS
would like to thank the Cricket Club Committee for allowing us to use the
facilities, including the cricket pavilion. Again, the BVS funded this event at a cost of
£500, and thanks again to Colin and Jane Hayward for arranging the games and to
Charlotte Maggs for entertaining us during the afternoon.

Bonfire Night/Fireworks:
This was a combined event with the cricket club and involved a £10 donation, which
resulted in us breaking even. It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening with the children’s
torchlight procession and fabulous fireworks arranged by Simon Jones.

Christmas Party:
A wonderful event with no charge to the residents apart from donations and thanks were
extended to both Vicky and Laura Terry for arranging everything on our behalf, which
made the event so memorable.

Boxing Day Walk:
We held our traditional walk on Blackheath Common and thanks were extended to Luke
Dunkley for arranging it.

Village Fair:
This was our fiftieth anniversary organised by Ralph, Max, Ranald, Simon, and Laura.
We arranged a special presentation present to Paul Cope, Colin Hayward and Brian
Monk as they were responsible for arranging the first fair. The event included Wombles
and our traditional attractions, including a visit from our local MP, Jeremy Hunt.
Although the weather was very wet during the first half of the afternoon, we were
encouraged by the number of local people who attended, which resulted in a net profit of
£1,800. David thanked the hard work that went into the event and also thanked the

Village Hall Committee and St Martin’s church for opening their doors and helping during
the event. Max Gibbs also extended his thanks to everyone who helped set up and take
down all of the stalls during a very challenging afternoon.

The Villagers Public House:
David confirmed the planning decision is in the hands of Waverley Borough Council and
it will be up to the enforcement officer to instigate any proceedings against the owner for
non-compliance of condition 2 of the planning consent. The BVS Pub Committee will
continue in its task to resist the conversion of the property into residential use and try to
persuade the owners to sell the pub to the local community.

4. Treasurer’s Report
The income and expenditure figures were presented by Anne Jenkins and she confirmed
that for the year ending 31 December 2023, the general reserve stood at £11,940.
Donations for the year end to charities and local organisations amounted to £3550.
The accounts were approved to allow Anne to post the figures on the Charity
Commission web site.
The war memorial funds remain ring-fenced, and distributions to local charities and
organisations have yet to be agreed by the Committee. Jill Wilkinson suggested we invite
residents to put forward their requests for funding of preferred organisations and
community projects in the village at future fairs. In the past, we have established an
independent Financial Committee, which needs to be reformed in the future. However,
due to the low level of net proceeds from this year’s fair, we will be limited in our ability to
distribute funds.

5. Committee Members
The Committee members were confirmed and approved as follows:
David Grisley - Chairman
Paul Brodie - Secretary
Anne Jenkins - Treasury
Max Gibbs - Parish Councillor
Ralph Broadbent
Simon Jones
Ranald Schulz
Laura Terry
Thanks were also extended to Charlie Bennett (now retired as a Committee member) for
helping and updating our website and producing posters for community events.

6. Security Measures in the Village
This matter was discussed in depth and it was suggested by Graham hayward that we
should rekindle our Neighbourhood Watch Scheme and set up a WhatsApp group in
order to communicate quickly about any thefts in the village.
There was some concern regarding recent break-ins and a stolen vehicle and the BVS
will consider all possible options to strengthen the security in Blackheath Village. David

Bushill suggested a number of dummy cameras may be a good deterrent.
Ben Moore suggested we contact the Police Community Support Officer (Nick Boxall)
and Paul Brodie will arrange this to discuss our various options. This may include
instructing a security firm to patrol our neighbourhood on a regular basis and will involve
a cost that could be shared by residents and the Parish Council.

7. Wildlife in the Village
The community would like to investigate the possibility of taking a greater interest in the
activities of the foxes and badgers in our local neighbourhood, especially at night.
It was agreed that we would look into the possibility of CCTV cameras, which will monitor
these activities and Blackheath Village Society will put together a scheme for residents to
consider. This will involve the initial capital costs and perhaps a contribution from
residents for those who are interested in viewing the footage.
Ranald Schulz may be able to set up an experimental camera in the middle of the village
by Michelle Cottages.

8. Fire Precautions
There are serious concerns about fires breaking out in the village during the summer
season, and although the fire service has not allowed us to maintain the fire beaters, this
is something we should consider. We will prepare signage throughout the village
advising people not to smoke or have BBQs on the Heath and provide emergency
telephone numbers for anyone to call in the event of a fire.
Perhaps a further WhatsApp group would be appropriate, providing
“https://what3words.com” to identify a precise location if a fire breaks out. Peter Walshaw
pointed out the differences between high-level and low-level fire risks, and volunteers in
Blackheath are always dealing with the low-level risk as we are unable to remove or cut
down any trees close to residents' houses.

9. Any Other Business
There were no other points other than thanking the Blackheath Village Society
Committee members for their hard work throughout the year and the meeting closed for
the residents to enjoy wine and snacks in the Village Hall.

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Blackheath Village Society
http://www.blackheathsurrey.co.uk
Tel: 01483 790000 Mob: 07768850003 Email: paul@bil.uk.com
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